This blog is intended to provide the reader with important world news with an emphasis on Middle East and North Africa. It will publish news, analyses, comments, and opinions concerning those two regions. However, We welcome any comments, news or opinions which are related to their countries. You can visit too www.asswak-alarab.com for more information.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Blogging For Change In Palestine

By Ziad Khalil Abu Zayyad

I was born in Jerusalem in the 1980s into the reality of occupation. My father had been politically active in the 1970s and my uncle is a former cabinet minister. As for myself, during my teenage years I became head of my high school union, which joined other Palestinian movements struggling against occupation. I lost close friends to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is unfortunately still on-going.

With time, I felt that my activism wasn't enough. We were not reaching the other side, or getting our message out to the rest of the world. I felt the need to do something that could contribute more substantially to ending the suffering of my people and reaching peace with our neighbours. I also felt that we needed to bring about change within the Palestinian community that would deepen our commitment to democratic values and cultivate effective tools in our efforts to bring about an end to the occupation of our lands.

Four years ago I began writing emails to friends and acquaintances that seemed interested in my views about what was happening in Israel and Palestine. I analysed the political and social events that were unfolding around me and also articulated ideas for a long-term solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has been so costly for both sides. As a result of these emails and the attention they garnered, in 2007 I founded the Middle East Post (MEP) Blog to give young people from across the Middle East the chance to share their perspectives on political and social issues.

I believe that everyone in this region has the right to be heard about the conflict provided that they aim to bring about a better understanding of our reality and promote a fair solution. I found that mainstream media outlets, whether Palestinian or Israeli, did not offer an opportunity for young Israelis or Palestinians to express their feelings or invest in a process of change. It was a difficult decision, but I decided that the blog would be open to anyone regardless of who they were and what kind of political background they came from.

I felt strongly about the need to communicate the Palestinian cause to Israelis and the rest of world so they could gain a more vivid picture of the reality that Palestinians live in. At the same time, I also wanted to offer the opportunity for Israelis to publish on the website, regardless of their views, in the belief that Palestinians need to hear from "ordinary" young Israelis, not just media pundits or politicians.

MEP went through some challenging times. During the war in Gaza in 2008, for example, the discussions on MEP between Israelis, Palestinians and internationals were very heated. One commentator wrote with outrage about the civilian victims in Gaza, while another talked about the Israelis of Sderot who were subject to missile attacks. Some of the comments on these articles were harsh, but what mattered to me most was the fact that communication was taking place between Israelis and Palestinians at a time when mainstream media outlets were not giving voice to people from the other side.

My writings in MEP helped me forge many important relationships. Through it I developed a network of writers and friends from all around the world. It also became a source of opinion and news for people who are interested in reading a variety of different perspectives about the conflict and other events in the region.

Beyond the virtual world, I also use social media to generate participation in real world events. Last year I was elected as head of the Watan Student Movement that worked to create a union among Palestinian students at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, encouraging them to stay away from political extremism. Using social media we succeeded in bringing more than 1,200 Arab students to a conference which called for greater unity in our socially and politically fragmented society.

I believe that writing and talking can bring real change to the political and social conditions of the Palestinian community. It seems difficult or even futile sometimes but we learn from history that only through determination and real passion can we succeed in achieving change. Our leaders may have failed so far in reaching a solution, and maybe we will too, but I feel that every word we write is a step forward towards achieving freedom for ourselves and peace with our neighbours.

-This commentary was published in The Kuwait Times on 19/07/2011
- Ziad Khalil Abu Zayyad is Founder of the Middle East Post and President of the Watan Student Movement - CGNews

About Me

I graduated from the French University in Beirut (St Joseph) specialising in Political and Economic Sciences. I started my working life in 1973 as a reporter and journalist for the pan-Arab magazine “Al-Hawadess” in Lebanon later becoming its Washington, D.C. correspondent. I subsequently moved to London in 1979 joining “Al-Majallah” magazine as its Deputy Managing Editor. In 1984 joined “Assayad” magazine in London initially as its Managing Editor and later as Editor-in-Chief. Following this, in 1990 I joined “Al-Wasat” magazine (part of the Dar-Al-Hayat Group) in London as a Managing Editor. In 2011 I became the Editor-In-Chief of Miraat el-Khaleej (Gulf Mirror). In July 2012 I became the Chairman of The Board of Asswak Al-Arab Publishing Ltd in UK and the Editor In Chief of its first Publication "Asswak Al-Arab" Magazine (Arab Markets Magazine) (www.asswak-alarab.com).

I have already authored five books. The first “The Tears of the Horizon” is a love story. The second “The Winter of Discontent in The Gulf” (1991) focuses on the first Gulf war sparked by Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. His third book is entitled “Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: From Balfour Promise to Bush Declaration: The Complications and the Road to a Lasting Peace” (March 2008). The fourth book is titled “How Iran Plans to Fight America and Dominate the Middle East” (October 2008) And the fifth and the most recent is titled "JIHAD'S NEW HEARTLANDS: Why The West Has Failed To Contain Islamic Fundamentalism" (May 2011).

Furthermore, I wrote the memoirs of national security advisor to US President Ronald Reagan, Mr Robert McFarlane, serializing them in “Al-Wasat” magazine over 14 episodes in 1992.

Over the years, I have interviewed and met several world leaders such as American President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Margaret Thacher, Late King Hassan II of Morocco, Late King Hussein of Jordan,Tunisian President Zein El-Abedine Bin Ali, Lybian Leader Moammar Al-Quadhafi,President Amine Gemayel of Lebanon,late Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, Late Palestinian Chairman Yasser Arafat, Haitian President Jean Claude Duvalier, Late United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan,Algerian President Shazli Bin Jdid, Jamaican Prime Minister Edward Siyagha and more...